


You Gotta Believe Me

by BBJ_3



Category: Cobra Kai, Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Confession, Confrontation, I can't be the only one who saw this in the Cobra Kai episodes, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Pining, Romantic Confession, Spoilers for the Season, apologizes for bullying, splits from canon, trying to be better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 18:09:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14550396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBJ_3/pseuds/BBJ_3
Summary: Daniel confronts Johnny in the newly revamped Cobra Kai dojo the night after the tournament. Johnny takes this sobering opportunity to make a confession over thirty years in the making.





	You Gotta Believe Me

Johnny had no idea what brought Daniel there that morning. Kreese had left. He'd said something about preparing for the true return of Cobra Kai, but the words between them hadn't been what Johnny wanted. The betrayal of those three words rang in his ears - _s_ _weep the leg._ Listening had cost him everything. His dignity. His trust in his sensei. His life. And now the man he'd let in - the man he'd locked the door behind - had his son. Robby trusted Daniel over him, and the worst part? Johnny couldn't blame him. There was a line between exploiting an opponent's weak spot and cruelly targeting an injury. 

"So -," Daniel drew out the word. His eyes traced the dojo like they had the first time he'd come since the revamp. "I thought you'd like to know that Robby's recovering well."

Of course. A mix of a gloat and a reassurance because Daniel was the better man. _Your son is fine, but he's with me. Everyone you love picks me._ Well, that wasn't exactly the truth. Even people Johnny barely liked picked Daniel. Nodding, Johnny crossed his arms over his chest. "Good."

"He's...he's a good kid." Daniel sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Sam...she's getting there."

"It's easier to be better if you surround yourself by better people," Johnny noted. It was why Robby was getting better too.

Frowning, Daniel stared. The natural energy around him seemed to shrink. "Miguel..."

"It won't happen again," Johnny cut in, stepping forward to close the distance between them before his entire body tensed. 

"What won't?"

"Targeting Robby's shoulder. Cobra Kai...it's not going to be like that again." 

"Funny - I heard Kreese was back."

Johnny huffed. "Not for long."

"You're going to stand up to him?"

"Yeah." Though Daniel nodded, there was no faith there. Just dull acceptance that the Big Bad Wolf in Daniel's life was back and had eyes on the people he cared about. An 1980s hero rising from the dust. Johnny forced his arms to uncross. "I'm sorry."

"You're...what? Seriously? We're standing in your  _Hitlerjugend_ headquarters, but I'm not supposed to worry because the guy who basically tried to cripple me is gonna take care of it...no, that's not how this works, Johnny. That's never been how this thing works. Whenever you 'take care of things,' it ends with me bloody - even if I win," Daniel pointed out. "That's not happening to Robby. That's sure as Hell not happening to Sam. You got me?"

"No," Johnny admitted, but before Daniel could rant, Johnny added, "But I want to."

"Want to?" Daniel's eyes narrowed. He squinted at the taller man with a sneer curling on his dark lips. 

"Yes."

"Great. Good explaining. Nice using your words."

Stepping closer, Johnny loomed even as Daniel reflexively shifted into a defensive stance. "If you shut up for a minute, I would explain."

Throwing his hands in the air, Daniel scoffed. "Fine! Explain away!" Any sane man would've used his words against Daniel after everything they'd been through. Their combative natures made active showing less productive, but Johnny reached out - slowly - cautiously - and Daniel raised his hand to block it. "This why you locked the door?"

"No," Johnny swept Daniel's leg, dropped them both to the floor, so his body pressed down on Daniel's. "This was why," he confessed and pressed his lips to the shorter man's. Daniel tensed beneath him, but the blond simply sighed into the kiss and the slight give as Daniel melted beneath him, but it didn't last. The moment that Johnny relaxed, Daniel rolled them and leapt off.

"What the fuck was that!?"

Staring up at the ceiling, the blond inhaled slowly, savoring the tingle which traveled through him. "Weren't you listening, LaRusso? It's why I locked the door."

"I'm married!"

"In the process of legal separation - just because you haven't told your daughter doesn't mean she hasn't realized her parents are growing apart," Johnny explained. Dark eyes widened and his lips parted as Daniel stared down at him. Johnny smiled as his eyes caught on the flush to them. "Sam told Miguel. Miguel told me."

Running a hand through his hair, Daniel swallowed. "Divorced - we're getting divorced."

"It's not so bad."

"Really? Your divorce was because your wife just - and I quote - feels you 'grew apart?' She's not even fighting for custody - says Sam doesn't...why the Hell am I talking with you about this?" Daniel exclaimed. "That doesn't change anything. It's not done. It's not final."

Johnny jumped to his feet. "Divorce isn't a failure."

"Really? Cause it was separation until you brought Cobra Kai back! Amanda didn't think Sam was a 'lost cause' and that I wasn't hard enough on her until you showed up."

"Sam was already joyriding with those shit friends of hers before I came back into your life. You and I both know she was there that night!" Johnny yelled right back. "God, LaRusso, can't you for once in your life admit that maybe you were never meant for a cookie cutter life?"

"Really? You're saying that to me?"

Johnny growled, running a hand over his face. "I'm saying that I've spent the last thirty-four years being someone I'm not. Punishing myself for failing to be what other people wanted. You won that night, LaRusso, but losing to you wasn't the worst of it for me. I believed in Cobra Kai. I believed in Kreese, and he wrecked that trust. This," Johnny gestured between the two of them, "This is why I bullied you. Forget Ali. Forget your single parent household or your accent or anything - the feelings I got when I saw you, I punished you for them. I was the big man at school. Ali wasn't anything special. Any girl I had would've been considered the hot girl on campus. I stayed with her because I didn't have to deal with these feelings happening. You weren't the first, but - and for the life of me I don't know why - it seems your the last. I spent decades down a bottle trying to get away from you, and I'm back here. We're back here. I'm sober, and all I can think is that we make sense together. In karate - in life, you and I make sense. Nobody else does." Daniel gaped at him. His chest stilled as if he had forgotten how to breathe. Stepping closer, Johnny wanted for some reaction, but Daniel stayed frozen even as Johnny closed the space between them. "Please," the word weighed heavy on his tongue. "No more separate dojos. I need you. Two styles, one dojo - no more Cobra Kai. No more bullying. No more ruthless, soulless lessons. Just...I need you to balance me out."

"You're insane."

Johnny laughed. "Probably."

"I know I never you hit you that hard in the head."

"Just tell me you'll think about it."

"Combining Cobra Kai and Migayi-Do? Bad idea."

"Combining you and me? Fucking fantastic idea."

Daniel shook his head. "Not sure that's true. I generally date people I trust. I'm not sure I could ever trust you."

"We can work on that."

Daniel's shoulders sagged. "This is a horrible idea."

"But you're considering it."

Shifting his weight from one foot to another, Daniel glanced back at the door then to the Cobra Kai on the wall. "Against my better judgement, frankly."

Johnny slid closer. He pulled Daniel closer by his belt loops. "You're taking it better than I did."

"I'm bi. I've been out since college. Not exactly a big deal nowadays," Daniel grumbled. A wariness remained in his eyes even as he let Johnny pull him closer.

"Not really, no."

"But the papers aren't filed, and I still -"

"She's taking you to the bank, LaRusso, and I don't kiss and tell."

Daniel cocked an eyebrow. "Push out Kreese, and I'm there." Stepping back out of Johnny's reach, Daniel shrugged. "Until then - I've got a couple of students that need my attention, and so do you."

As he sauntered to the door, Johnny couldn't help but smile. "Hey! LaRusso!" When the other man glanced over his shoulder, the blond smirked. "You're all right."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure what happened, but I totally ship it.


End file.
